Robert Barnes

Who was Robert Barnes?

Robert "Bobbie" Barnes was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League.

Born in Mount Barker in regional South Australia, Barnes played his early football for West Broken Hill Football Club in the Barrier Ranges Football Association in far west New South Wales, winning the Kenwrick Medal for Best and Fairest player in the competition. A rover, he was recruited by West Adelaide of the 1921 season and represented the South Australian interstate team that year for the first of eight times. In a 1921 match against North Adelaide Football Club, Barnes kicked a goal from seventy metres out after the final siren to draw the match. West Adelaide supporters carried Barnes shoulder high from the ground.

In 1922 Barnes won the Magarey Medal for the Best and Fairest player in the league and played in West Adelaide's losing Grand Final team. West had finished the minor round in 4th place with a 7-7 record. They defeated West Torrens in the 2nd Semi-final but were defeated 9.7 to 2.16 by Norwood in the Grand Final at the Adelaide Oval. Barnes topped West Adelaide's goal kicking with 17 in 1924.